Blinken said Wednesday that Washington had offered Russia a deal that would bring home Griner and another imprisoned American, Paul Whelan. A person familiar with the matter said the US government has offered to trade convicted Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout for Whelan and Griner. Speaking on a visit to Uzbekistan, Lavrov said his ministry had received an official US request for a summons following Blinken’s statement. Russia’s top diplomat said he would be ready once he returned to Moscow and that the timing of the call was being worked out. Lavrov said he is open to discussing a prisoner exchange, even though the Foreign Ministry has not been involved in previous discussions on the issue. “I will hear what he has to say,” added Lavrov. WATCHES | USA reveals moves to bring jailed basketball player home:
White House offers Russia deal to release basketball star Brittney Griner
The Biden administration says it has made a “substantial offer” to bring two American prisoners home from Russia, including basketball star Brittney Griner. Asked Thursday about the US offer, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said prisoner swaps were usually negotiated discreetly behind the scenes. “We know that such issues are discussed without any such disclosure of information,” Peskov told reporters during a conference call. “Normally, the public finds out when the deals have already been implemented.” Blinken’s comments were the first time the US government has publicly disclosed any specific action it has taken to secure Griner’s release. The two-time Olympic gold medalist and player for the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury was arrested at a Moscow airport in mid-February when inspectors found vapor cartridges containing cannabis oil in her luggage. Griner’s arrest came at a time of rising tensions between Moscow and Washington ahead of Russia’s February 24 deployment of troops to Ukraine. Griner’s five months in detention drew heavy criticism among teammates and supporters in the United States. Her trial on drug charges began in a court outside Moscow this month, and she testified Wednesday that she did not know how the cartridges ended up in her purse, but that she had a doctor’s recommendation to use cannabis to treat pain associated with her career.
Griner pleads guilty, unintentionally
The 31-year-old pleaded guilty but said she had no criminal intent to bring the cartridges to Russia and rushed back to play in a Russian basketball league during the WNBA’s off-season. He faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted of drug trafficking. The Biden administration has faced political pressure to release Griner and other Americans the US has said are being “illegally detained” — a designation vehemently rejected by Russian officials. Whelan, a corporate security executive from Michigan, was sentenced to 16 years in prison on espionage charges in 2020. He and his family have strongly maintained his innocence. The US government has denounced the charges as false. Russia has for years expressed interest in the release of Bout, a Russian arms dealer once described as the “Merchant of Death.” He was sentenced to 25 years in prison in 2012 on charges that he planned to illegally sell millions of dollars in weapons.
